Shaffer trucking......Specifically

I have a friend with whom I met 4 years ago while working in a factory, 2nd shift. He was going to Truck driving school during the day. As we visited
and talked about our experiences, we agreed that I should look into this
industry also. Terry started out with Schaffer and is still with them about
3 yrs now,and no complaints. Hope this is helpful.

 

What others said is correct, they ran out of red trucks, and had a lot of us in old 28's that were due to trade out. I have one of the blue Crete trucks, and I like it much better. It has a 14 Liter engine in it, instead of the smaller one my red truck had, and it also has a CD player in it. My XM radio sits on the dash gathering dust. A truck's a truck. so it don't bother me what color it is.

 

I'm currently driving for Shaffer and can tell you that I'm starting to like them a little more each time out, but still have some major issues that the recruiter lied about.
1. APU's are only going to be installed on 2006 and 2007 models, the new Cascadias will only have bunk heaters only.
2. You're only allow one 300 watt inverter.
3. No Pets!
4. 62 mph trucks in 10th gear, 53mph in 9th gear and 385HP Detroit engines. Yes the shop mechanics turned down the engines and you can shift higher than 53mph into 9th but the turbo will not engage until then.
5. Shaffer does not pay layover for lack of freight.
6. Shaffer pays practical route miles only when it is convenient to the company, example; load from Columbus, OH to York, PA via PA turnpike. They want you to get off at Carlisle, PA exit 226 and run US11-PA581-I83 instead of going the extra 14-15 miles to I-83 then go south. US11 has 20+ stop lights, not very practical!
7. 90% of Shaffer freight is I35 and East, so going out west is more a treat than an every week occurrence.
8. Opti-idle is annoying because every time it wants to start the engine this little buzzer goes off for 2-4 seconds before actually starting the truck. This means if it is cold or hot outside you might not sleep much due to the alarm clock going off all the time. Shaffer didn't think insulation was important when they bought their trucks.
9. Hometime is 3 weeks minimum according to my Fleet Manager and if at the end of that third week your home time falls on a holiday you won't be able to go home because your a newbie to the company and they require 20% of their fleet to be available even on the holidays. Only exception is you are allowed to go through the house for Chirstmas, I said through not necessarily home time for any holiday
10. Shaffer requires you to keep $125 on you at all times to pay for lumpers, trailer washouts, etc. I refuse to do it because any company that "brags" about their financial stability is not going to get a dime of a loan from me. Think about it, you are loaning them money (it is considered a cash advance until you turn in the receipts) and might not get it back for 1-2 weeks depending on when your trip ends and you can get is scanned in
11. Shaffer requires you to have a Hazmat endorsement even though you pull a reefer. I guess that corrosive acid needs to be refrigerated now.
12. No per diem per mile which lowers your gross on your W2 tax form (Makes IRS think you made less than you did, also helps you qualify for state aid if it is low enough)

I hope this has answered some of your questions. Like I said I am currently employed with them and have been since June 2008, which I really do regret leaving my former company and would go back but I'm afraid of job hoping too much. This is the real deal and through 35 weeks I'm avg 2350/week. I'm a National drivers and stay out 3-4 weeks at a time.

 

Sticks 100% right about the dispatch. I've literally been on hold 30+ minutes trying to get a dispatcher on the phone, and break down is just as bad. You are at the mercy of the qualcomm and might have to send your message multiple times to get someone to respond to you

 

I love Cretes dispatch system. It weeds out ALOT of favortism! First empty - next load. I dont wait to long with dispatch, as long as its on the Qlcom. Ive never ran the refer side.

 

how was it at bolus freight i was thinking about working there

 

Jim H, thanks for posting. The main thing i really need to know about is the mileage---how much you can get, which you posted. Thanks, and please continue to report mileage.

i would like to comment on the points you brought up:

1) i wonder how much longer they will keep the 06, 7 tractors? In any case a bunk heater would be good enough for me. As i don't idle much anyways.

2) Suits me ok, as i don't have too much electrical demands----computer, tv etc.

3) Doesn't concern me as i don't have any furry friends to bring along.

4) This sucks, but as long as the loads are there i can probably(barely) live with it.

5) This definetly sucks.

6) Most companies are like this, while it's not right my view is i look at the big picture----are the miles and loads there (and thus your paycheck will also be good)?

7) Not the most favorable condition, but again if the miles and freight are there, i can deal with it.

8) i actually like opti-idle. Also, i hear schaffer wants everyone to cut down on idling? There must be an easy way to disable the buzzer? Hopefully?

9) Doesn't concern me right now; i've spent a christmas away from home once, i can do it again. Besides, christmas just doesn't have the same luster anymore. Same deal with other "holidays." Money's more important to me right now.

10) i understand about giving the company a loan and all---the company should give a few dollars back for the convience to them. Anyways, to me, personally, this is no big deal as i would carry that much or more anyways to deal with road expenses.

11) No big deal to me. The only thing i didn't like was the whole process the get/renew the hazmat, not to mention the cost---it still hasn't paid for itself as i've only hauled one hazmat load since. But that's a separate issue from company policy i guess.

12) no comment

Again, thanks for posting. i would appreciate greatly your continued reporting on weekly mileage---this is essential for me on choosing a company. It's the only thing i really care about.

 

agreed on PDS..those guys were terrible